


Girl Code

by bitsori



Category: PRISTIN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Developing Relationship, F/F, Female Friendship, Summer Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-08-20 14:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20229634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: The unwritten rules of female friendship dictate that she shouldn’t even look at Minkyung in any way other than friendly or platonic, and yet here she is. She thinks about Minkyung telling her that one really can’t choose who they’re attracted to, and for a fleeting moment she feels comforted, but then she thinks about justMinkyung, and Eunwoo is back to wanting to tear her own hair out.--or: Eunwoo and Minkyung spend the summer getting closer than either of them had anticipated ( AU )





	Girl Code

**Author's Note:**

> [ 1 ] Written for GG Jukebox Round 1, inspired by [Carly Rae Jepsen's This Kiss](https://open.spotify.com/track/4tmIJTSnuvskqsPwB5RCqx?si=jy4WFSALScy39C4dtWtf_w).
> 
> [ 2 ] The interpretation is a bit loose because the original plot for this fic came to me months ago (before PRISTIN even disbanded, RIP), but Jukebox gave me an excuse to finally sit down and finish it. Really wanted to write at least one fic with these two as the main ship before I completely give up on writing PRISTIN fic, so... this happened. I hope someone enjoys this apart from me.

  
  
  
  
  


When Eunwoo was in junior high, one of the girls in her group of friends started dating a boy who used to ‘go steady’ with another one of the girls in the same friend group.

Overnight, the girl had turned into a pariah - kicked out of their little merry band of fourteen year olds just because she started holding hands with the wrong guy.

_ Girl code, _ was the explanation that was given.  _ You shouldn’t even consider  _ _ flirting _ _ with any guy that was once your friend’s, _ was the rule that was broken.

_ Girl code, _ Eunwoo repeats to herself six years later, when she’s seated cross legged on the floor of Minkyung’s floor, lips slotted perfectly against the older girl’s and unable to get enough of the faint cherry taste the kiss offered.

She wonders how much of that still holds if there are no boys, and girls are the only ones involved.

  
  


— ☆ —

  
  


Eunwoo can't remember anymore why she had been looking forward to this summer break so much. She wagers it probably had something to do with how she was supposed to spend it with her friends, hanging out, day in and day out, no school to attend and no other worries to mind.

Except a few things had happened over the last couple of weeks effectively rendering the upcoming summer months pretty much dreadful.

Not least among these things: Kyulkyung, who unceremoniously dumped Eunwoo right smack in the middle of finals week, has decided to fly back home to China for the break. 

“Sorry,” Kyulkyung had told her, and okay, maybe saying she’d done it  _ unceremoniously _ is a tad dramatic on Eunwoo’s part because Kyulkyung had actually seemed genuinely apologetic – not to mention, if she was going to be completely honest, it was pretty expected. “You’re my best friend here,” Kyulkyung had gone on to say, and Eunwoo couldn't dispute that, really. Before they dated, they were friends, and they’d always promised to be. In a lot of ways, Kyulkyung really  _ is  _ Eunwoo’s other half – just not in a romantic or sexual capacity, apparently, because otherwise she probably would have been more hurt and confused about this break-up.

“It’s okay,” Eunwoo told Kyulkyung before enveloping the latter in a tight hug; funny thing is that it really  _ is  _ okay for the most part, just a little annoying because it would have been nice to be in a cute relationship over the summer. (Eunwoo is aware that this is very shallow on her part, but she’d also assumed that Kyulkyung, as someone who has always thought similarly as her, would have felt the same. She’d clearly miscalculated there, because she hadn’t considered that Kyulkyung might want to go home to China instead. It’s when the situation is put like that she gets a bit dramatic, calling the breakup unceremonious and uncalled for in her head, because  _ damn it,  _ a summer romance would have been cute.)

And then: Yaebin announces a last minute vacation with her parents.

“A month-long cruise around Southeast Asia seems pretty appealing,” she’d told Eunwoo with a shrug, after sharing the news with her. “If not now, when?” She didn’t really seem particularly enthused which Eunwoo didn’t understand, especially not when they’d spent a lot of time daydreaming together about all the activities they can do together with their friends over the vacation months. (A road trip to the beach had been what they wanted to put at the top of the list, except none of them had a car  _ or _ a license, so they’d settled instead with half baked plans to go to a water park together. Eunwoo had been looking forward to that a lot, but alas.)

“It’s because things got really weird with her and Minkyung,” Kyungwon clarifies to her when they have lunch; Kyungwon is at school for an oral exam that she isn’t sure if she did well on, and Eunwoo is there because she had to take  _ her _ last final that morning. Kyulkyung is (presumably) already on a plane to Beijing, and Yaebin finished her finals the day before so she opted out of lunch, saying she had a shit ton of last minute packing to do. Minkyung, being the overachieving and diligent student that she is, managed to be exempted for two finals, which meant her semester ended an entire three days ago, which also meant, based on what Eunwoo knows about her, she was probably just relaxing at home, sleeping or very likely playing with her dog.

“Weird, how?” Eunwoo’s brow creases. It’s no secret that Yaebin has basically been in love with Minkyung since… well, presumably forever. At least that’s what it seems to Eunwoo, who had met Yaebin (and Kyulkyung) during their collective freshman year when they were all enrolled in some general Introduction to Physics class together, and was then promptly introduced to Minkyung, who Yaebin had known since high school, and Kyungwon, who apparently was Minkyung’s platonic other half. Even then it was obvious that Yaebin was smitten with Minkyung; it’s been a year and a half since then and as far as Eunwoo is concerned there hasn’t really been any type of development in their relationship.

“Minkyung made it clear once and for all that she doesn't feel the same,” Kyungwon explains, very casual and matter-of-fact, as if she’s simply reading some mundane information out loud from a boring pamphlet.

“Wait—” Eunwoo, on the other hand, does not take the reveal so lightly.  _ “What?!” _ Somehow, despite the lack of actual committed relationship between her two friends, Eunwoo still assumed they’d get together eventually. That their story was just a slow burn to a happy ending, or whatever. She was always closer with Yaebin, so maybe this presumption was colored by the fact that she was always more in tune with the younger’s feelings, because Kyungwon, who is Minkyung’s best friend, is acting pretty unsurprised and unbothered – like this is something she’s waited for a long time to happen.

As if to further Eunwoo’s observation, Kyungwon shrugs her shoulders in response. “Minkyung loves Yaebin, she really does, but—” she sighs, before continuing, “—it’s not the same way Yaebin loves her. She’s always tried to be clear about this, but you know Yaebin. She’s a stubborn little thing.”

Kyungwon is right, she knows, but Eunwoo is still confused. “Why am I hearing this from  _ you,  _ though?” Admittedly, she’s a little hurt – even after she and Kyulkyung started dating, she always thought the three of them were still a very close unit. (Come to think of it, perhaps that way of thinking was a sign that she and Kyulkyunh were not built to last.)

“Pride, maybe,” Kyungwon assumes with yet another shrug. “She probably just needs a bit of time on her own. Plus you and Kyulkyung just had your thing, too – maybe she didn’t want to pile on to that.”

With Yaebin, Eunwoo knows it can easily be a combination of both. Still, she feels off about not having heard about this from Yaebin herself. “That’s ridiculous,” she huffs at Kyungwon.  _ “She  _ knows I’m doing just fine with the whole Kyulkyung thing. Kyul and I get each other – we’re just not built to be a romantic couple!”

“That’s what Minkyung feels about Yaebin,” Kyungwon says. “Maybe when Yaebin comes back she’ll be at that point, too.” 

Eunwoo sighs; the ideal summer of fun she’d been envisioning just a month earlier is completely off the table now it seems. “This kinda sucks,” she mutters. “It’s gonna feel weird being stuck with just you and Minkyung-unnie this summer.”

Kyungwon lifts an eyebrow at her in a way that makes Eunwoo sit straight up because she knows what’s coming next is probably Not A Good Thing. “About that—I’m taking the train back home, the day after tomorrow. I thought you knew this?”

“I did?” Eunwoo practically gawks at the older girl. 

“I know I wasn’t supposed to go back home until next week, but my sister kept whining—she says I see you guys often enough,” Kyungwon laughs, “and that she needs her twin time.”

“You had nineteen years of twin time!” Eunwoo argues. “You can’t just leave me alone in Seoul?!” She supposes she can make an attempt to contact her old high school friends, see if any of them are up for hanging out, but the truth is that her social life for almost all of the last two years have been made up solely of the same four girls.

“I’m not leaving you alone, Nunu,” Kyungwon tells her, laughing at her dramatic antics. “Minky isn’t going anywhere.”

“Yeah, well—” Eunwoo sighs, and tries her best not to fidget so obviously. “It won’t be as fun with just the two of us,” she grumbles. The real problem lies in the fact that in their little group, even though they get along just fine, Minkyung is the one person that Eunwoo feels most detached from. She doesn’t remember actually having been alone with Minkyung, ever, now that she thinks about it – she has no idea what they’d even do together, or what they’d talk about.

“You’ll be fine,” Kyungwon assures her, but Eunwoo isn’t sure how to feel considering the almost obnoxious laughter that accompanies the words.

  
  
  
  


**jununu:** yaebni? u ok?

**renakang: ** yes?    
**renakang: ** why wouldn’t i be?

**jununu:** kyung unnie told me   
**jununu:** abt minky unnie

**renakang:** oh   
**renakang:** yea   
**renakang:** dw im fine   
**renakang:** obvi been better but 🙂

**jununu:** ok   
**jununu:** if u’re sure

**renakang:** i mean it sucks but   
**renakang:** whatever right?   
**renakang:** i’ll get my mind off things on this trip

**jununu:** right!   
**jununu: ** that’s good   
**jununu:** great   
**jununu:** have fun on ur cruise!

**renakang:** wr still here in sg   
**renakang:** our ship doesnt leave until tmr but   
**renakang: ** wish me luck   
**renakang:** i better meet a hot lesbian on the cruise   
**renakang:** gonna have a mindblowing summer fling   
**renakang:** but miss me a lot anyway

**jununu:** lol   
**jununu:** 11:11 one hot lesbian for kang yaebin

  
  
  
  


The first two days of Eunwoo’s break after Kyungwon leaves for home fall on a weekend, and they go by very slowly. She spends Saturday at home, locked up in her room, practically asleep for half of it. Sunday, meanwhile, she spends in bed, still, messaging her friends on Kakao Talk between reading webtoons and watching meme compilations on Youtube. 

“I’m so bored,” she whines to Kyungwon, who just sends back a collection of pictures that she took of her dog. “What am I supposed to do with those?!” 

“Admire Kongie’s unsurpassed beauty, obviously,” is Kyungwon’s useless response.

To Yaebin, she asks, “Hook up with any hot girls yet?” 

“No, but there’s so much delicious food being served here, I think I’m going to come home looking like a whale,” Yaebin informs her, her message punctuated with kaomojis of distress. “Will talk to you later, though, my mom wants me to go check out this on deck activity.”

“I hate you for going back to China,” she tells Kyulkyung. “If you were here I could be making out with you instead of counting the cracks on my ceiling.” She’s joking, of course – she doesn't want to be weird about their breakup, so she tries to make jokes at the expense of it. Knowing Kyulkyung, she gets it. Or, at least Eunwoo hopes she does.

“Go out of your room and find someone else to make out with, maybe?” Kyulkyung’s words are followed by a winky face smiley with its tongue out, which actually makes Eunwoo laugh.

“It’s not that easy to replace you,” Eunwoo jokes, sending a series of funny looking, overdramatic stickers with her words to make sure Kyulkyung laughs and doesn’t get weirded out. “Wait—are you already making out with someone new?!” She won’t admit it out loud, but that thought  _ does _ make her feel a little strange – especially when all Kyulkyung replies to her with is a coy winking emoticon that makes Eunwoo almost want to throw her phone across the room. (She doesn't because it’s not even a year old, and it cost her a damn fortune when she got it as a birthday present for herself.)

Several times, she considers messaging Minkyung too, but every time she opens their message tab, she is reminded that the last one-on-one exchange they have had goes as far back as two months ago, where Eunwoo was left on read after she answered Minkyung’s question about which professor she’d gotten when she took a language elective the previous semester. There’s also a small part of her that feels weird about starting a conversation with Minkyung because she herself has always been closer with Yaebin, so a stubborn part of her wants to be loyal, even if Yaebin didn't really ask for it. (“I don’t care if you hang out with Minkyung-unnie, though?” Yaebin actually tells her, but Eunwoo isn’t sure if she means it because Yaebin is proud, and also oftentimes petty.)

The group chat the five of them share is also eerily quiet, save for Kyungwon sharing a couple of pictures of her dogs in there as well. Eunwoo does not doubt that the strange atmosphere has to do with Minkyung’s rejection of Yaebin, and she can only hope that awkwardness will subside once the next term rolls around.

And then Monday finally comes along, which means she at least has her job to keep her busy. She had managed to snag a temporary gig working as a barista at a Starbucks near Hongdae Station, and just as she’d expected, thanks to the coffee chain being packed all day, her work shift passes by fairly quickly. She makes friends with another girl who works with her, Yewon, who has a smile so bright that Eunwoo doesn’t think twice about asking her if she wants to get dinner together after their shift. 

“Oh, sorry—” Yewon, to be fair, looks genuinely apologetic. “I already have plans, unnie, I’m sorry!”

She also  _ sounds  _ as apologetic as she looks, so Eunwoo can only hold back a sigh as she assures the younger that it’s okay – she has other friends she can invite to go and have dinner with her.

Of course, the truth is that she doesn’t – briefly, once again, she considers calling Minkyung, and her thumb hovers over the call button next to Minkyung’s name in her address book, but she decides against it last second. Instead, she buys chicken skewers and triangle kimbap at the convenience store near the bus stop, and she’s home before it’s even nine in the evening.

  
  
  
  


And then Minkyung shows up at Eunwoo’s work the next day, and she's caught completely off-guard. It shouldn’t really be a big deal because  _ again, _ they’re technically  _ friends, _ but all the hemming and hawing she’d done over the weekend (and then some), about calling Minkyung first obviously got to her, because it certainly felt a little jarring, seeing Minkyung walk into the café by herself, lighting up completely when she sees Eunwoo working behind the counter.

“Don’t you have work today?” Eunwoo asks after she punches in Minkyung’s order (“One tall green tea latte, with a slice of sweet potato cake, please—dine-in!”), and the older girl hands over her card.

As far as she knows Minkyung is helping out at her father’s small publishing firm for the summer, which meant that she had a regular eight to five work day, and a quick glance at the overhead clock behind her confirms that it’s barely past four in the afternoon. Eunwoo knows this because when she and Yaebin had been discussing summer activity ideas, the other girl had made sure that Minkyung’s schedule be put into consideration. (“I’m working every day, too,” Eunwoo whined. “Where’s the consideration for  _ my _ daily schedule?!” Yaebin had only laughed and pointed out that the whole summer was going to be built around the two of them since they were the ones making plans. Eunwoo can’t help but grumble to herself as she thinks about this memory now, because obviously they hadn’t planned around Yaebin’s stupid summer cruise.)

“My Dad sent me to collect a manuscript from this young author,” she explains. “And then he let me take the rest of the day off. Perks of nepotism and all,” she jokes, chuckling as Eunwoo hands her card back, together with her order pager. “What time does your shift end?”

“I still have an hour left to go,” Eunwoo answers.

“Oh cool—I’ll wait for you, then! Let’s have dinner together.” Minkyung grins, and before Eunwoo can answer to the affirmative or otherwise, she’s already walking away and claiming a newly vacated seat by the window.

“She’s pretty,” Yewon comments with her usual bright smile, but Eunwoo can only quickly nod in agreement because the next customer is already starting to look impatient. Late afternoon always sees an uptick in the business they get at the cafe, and Eunwoo is more than happy that on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, she at least gets to clock out before the worst of the early evening rush.

“You look like a mess,” is Minkyung’s first comment after Eunwoo ends her shift and she slides into the seat across hers. The comment is friendly, teasing – nowhere near malicious, but it makes Eunwoo scowl nevertheless.

“Unnie!” She huffs and pouts, and Minkyung only  _ laughs,  _ reaching over the table to pinch her cheek. 

“I’m kidding, sorry,” Minkyung apologises, leaning back as a hint of sheepishness actually colors her features. “You just look really beat.”

“You should see me on Mondays and Fridays when I work through rush hour,” Eunwoo says, sighing dramatically while running her fingers through her hair.

“Okay.”

“Okay?!”

“Okay,” Minkyung repeats, laughing. “I’ll see you on those days then.”

“Unnie, no!” Eunwoo gawks. “No, don’t!”

“Why not? Coming to see you here would be better than just going straight home after work—I mean, yes, being at home is nice, but going home after work  _ with my Dad, _ well. That kind of makes me feel like a loser.” She pauses, long manicured fingers tapping on the table, before she laughs, and admits, “Well, Kyungwon makes me feel like a loser about it anyway.”

“Hate to break it to you, unnie, but it kinda does.” Minkyung actually pouts at the teasing that Eunwoo throws her way. “I’m kidding!” She immediately tries to backtrack, only to be met with more of Minkyung’s laughter instead.

“Come on,” Minkyung says, already gathering her things and shoving her phone and her wallet into her bag. “We both know I’ll be dropping by more from now on, partly because it’s all about seeing you look like a haggard mess.”

It’s Eunwoo’s turn to scoff, except she quickly has to look away because Minkyung’s eyes sparkle when she laughs, and she needs to distract herself from them. “Whatever,” she grumbles, only to blush deep when her stomach rumbles along with her.

“Right—” Minkyung smiles in an almost  _ fond _ way. “What do you want to have for dinner?”

“Meat,” she answers immediately; hunger always takes over her completely, rendering her unable to think before she speaks. “Lots of meat.”

“Alright then,” Minkyung agrees, sliding out of her seat and offering Eunwoo a hand after she gets on her feet. “Sounds good to me. There are a lot of places we can walk to from here.”

They head out of the cafe, arms linked; Eunwoo waves a quick goodbye to Yewon who is still behind the counter, sporting a bright smile – she doesn’t know how her co-worker manages to keep such a genuine smile plastered on her face despite the stress the quickly gathering crowd brings.

“This job sucks,” she mutters, only for Minkyung to hear.

“At least you smell nice afterwards,” is the answer she never thought she’d hear, but gets anyway.

“What—?” She giggles, unable to help herself, because it came completely out of left field; Minkyung joins her, and they walk down the sidewalk, getting strange looks because of their mixed laughter.

“Remember that time that Kyungwon worked at a BBQ restaurant?” Minkyung asks, and Eunwoo simply nods. Kyungwon had taken that job during first term earlier that year, for the purpose of some extra cash, and their entire friend group had spent the next few months eating there at least three times a week, mooching off her employee discount. “She always smelled like kimchi and sesame oil during that entire time.”

Eunwoo bursts into laughter that’s a little too loud, earning them even more strange stares from strangers around them. Minkyung, unfazed, joins along and pulls her even closer. 

Even funnier, they end up at that same exact restaurant, where some of the staff actually greet them with familiarity.

“Smells the same here, as ever,” Minkyung whispers to Eunwoo, right before one of the waitresses walk over to take their order.

  
  
  
  


It’s strange, considering how much Eunwoo had agonized over contacting Minkyung first, how easy the two fall of them in a comfortable routine. Without much fanfare, Minkyung starts showing up at Starbucks every evening, usually around the time Eunwoo’s shift ends.

Minkyung always orders two drinks at the counter as soon as she arrives, one for her, and one for Eunwoo, to help refresh her after a long work day, and she does this daily, which means by the end of the week she and Yewon have managed to be on friendly terms.

“Why do you come here every day?” Eunwoo finally asks. It isn’t that she minds – she appreciates the older's company, even though their evenings have, so far, been mostly filled with small talk (“That's a pretty blazer you're wearing today, unnie,” Eunwoo greets Minkyung once, “Thank you, I got in on sale online,” was Minkyung's simple answer) and random gossip mongering about people from University and what they're posting on their socials (“I saw Mingyu went on vacation to Boracay,” Eunwoo shares once, mostly because she's jealous; “Oh I think he went with Joshua, this guy who was in my Logic class last year—I feel like they’re actually  _ together  _ together,” Minkyung had shared back).

“What do you mean why?” Minkyung gives her a strange look. “Didn't I already answer this before? I’d feel like too much of a loser if my evenings were spent driving home with my Dad.” They’re having samgyeopsal for the second night that week, and Minkyung was expertly cutting and turning pieces of meat on the grill. “Why are  _ you _ fixated on my reasons—?” Minkyung regards her suspiciously. “Do you not like spending time with me?”

Eunwoo has to laugh at that, but she quickly shakes her head. For some reason, she really did think it would be much more awkward, her and Minkyung spending time by themselves, but it hasn’t been that way at all.

“Okay, fine—” Minkhung clicks her tongue as she places a few pieces of meat on Eunwoo’s plate. “You wanna know the truth?”

“The truth, she says!” Eunwoo chortles. “So you  _ have _ been holding out on me!”

Minkyung’s eyes sparkle – and seriously, Eunwoo doesn’t understand how she’s never taken note of how they constantly do that before.

“Okay, honestly, Kyungwon called me last weekend,” Minkyung tells her. “She told me you were bored out of your wits, and that I should try and do something about that.”

Eunwoo frowns and pauses halfway through making a lettuce wrap; she isn’t sure how to feel about Minkyung’s admittance. “That sounds like I’m some kind of charity case?”

Minkyung laughs. “No— this is mutually beneficial hanging out, don’t worry! It’s kinda weird making friends at work when my Dad is the boss, you know? And we’re all that’s left of each other’s social circles this summer. If you were a charity case, would I have taken you out to dinner almost every night this week?”

That actually makes Eunwoo laugh, and somewhat relax. “So we’re basically just each other’s last resorts, is what I’m hearing here, unnie!”

“Basically!” Minkyung agrees all too quickly, and they both laugh together. “Honestly though, it’s been a nice week. Are you doing something this weekend?”

“Wow— so  _ now, _ all I’m hearing is that you’ve enjoyed my company so much that you can’t wait to enjoy more of it!”

Minkyung chuckles as she carefully makes a lettuce wrap – one that certainly looks neater and better packed than any of Eunwoo’s attempts so far. “Well, if you have better things to do— better people to spend it with—” And then, she holds it out for Eunwoo, who blinks in surprise before opening her mouth wide to allow the older girl to push it in.

She covers her mouth with both hands, while she chews, eyes locked with Minkyung’s sparkly ones until she manages to push the food down her throat. 

“Okay, first of all—” She reaches for a glass of water and gulps down a good amount of it before continuing, “—that’s not what I said! But also— what are you inviting me to, exactly?”

“A surprise,” Minkyung answers coyly. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow around nine in the morning, is that okay?”

“It’s a Saturday, isn’t that too early?!”

“Great days start out bright and early,” Minkyung shoots back, and Eunwoo gawks at her.

“You don’t truly believe that, unnie—not when I know you do your best to never schedule any classes before ten in the morning if you can help it!”

Minkyung laughs some more. “How do you even know that?”

Eunwoo shrugs because the real answer is  _ Yaebin told me, _ but it didn’t really seem appropriate to bring that into the conversation, all things considered.

“Okay, so I’m not usually a bright, morning person, but there are some things that make it worth it—trust me on this!”

  
  
  
  


**jununu:** so how’s the search for the hot lesbian going?

**renakang: ** it’s   
**renakang: ** going

**jununu:** so no success yet?

**renakang:** well   
**renakang:** it’s   
**renakang:** going

**jununu:** lol   
**jununu:** still sending u good vibes    
**jununu: ** and good luck

**renakang:** i did meet this girl   
**renakang:** she would be cute but

**jununu:** but?

**renakang: ** she’s the type who always wants things her way   
**renakang:** she’s a tiny girl    
**renakang: ** with a big personality

**jununu:** kkkk sounds like u

**renakang:** ew no she’s annoying    
**renakang: ** anyway **  
** **renakang:** how’s ur summer   
**renakang:** how’s tricks

**jununu:** boring

**renakang:** u and minky unnie hang out yet?

**jununu:** um   
**jununu:** saw her a couple of times

**renakang:** u don’t still feel weird abt it do u   
**renakang:** i told u idc if u hang out

**jununu:** yeah no i don’t   
**jununu:** oh look it’s that time again   
**jununu:** 11:11 one hot summer fling 4 kang yaebin   
**jununu:** maybe even w that cute but annoying girl

**renakang:** shut up and take that back   
**renakang:** anyway idek what timezone i’m in rn   
**renakang:** but 11:11 one cute girl to help alleviate jung nunu’s summer boredom too   
**renakang:** 😘

  
  
  
  
  


“You volunteer?!”

The place that Minkyung takes her to is apparently an animal shelter somewhere just outside Seoul, on the outskirts of Gimpo. Eunwoo knows that Minkyung has a pet dog, so she figures Minkyung must love animals to some degree, she just never realised that love extended to volunteering.

“Occasionally,” Minkyung tells her, checking her reflection in the rear-view mirror as she pulls her hair up into a messy ponytail. “Usually on Saturdays when I have nothing to do,” she continues to explain, throwing her car keys into her bag once she seems content with how she looks, and then pushing the door open so she can get out of the car; Eunwoo quickly follows suit. “Kyungwon sometimes comes with me, especially when she misses Kongie—but we don’t really get to go a lot when school’s in session.”

Eunwoo didn’t know this, and it serves to further highlight the divide in their little friend group. She can’t blame Minkyung and Kyungwon for having their own little excursions together, not when she, Yaebin and Kyulkyung do a lot of that as well.

The staff at the shelter greet Minkyung with easy familiarity, and she makes sure to introduce Eunwoo to all of them. She also helps Eunwoo fill out the volunteer form, and even joins her for the brief orientation that senior staff give all new volunteers, even though it’s pretty clear that she doesn’t really need to.

“I’ll be your volunteer buddy and stick by your side all day,” Minkyung happily assures her. “Unless you’re sick and tired of me and you’d rather meet someone new—?”

“Oh, no!” Eunwoo laughs and immediately links arms with the older girl. Frankly, she’s good with new people, and she easily makes friends so it wouldn’t really be any problem if she and Minkyung decide to separate for the day; but she came here with Minkyung and now that she’s realising there are a lot of things she doesn’t really know about the latter, Eunwoo suddenly feels like she has a renewed responsibility to get to know her friend better. Plus, if the past week has taught her anything, it’s that she genuinely enjoys Minkyung’s company and she wouldn’t mind more of it. “Let’s stick together,” she confirms with a grin.

They quickly get pretty busy with tasks assigned to them. Eunwoo would have assumed that she would hate all the manual labor that tasks like carrying sacks of litter sand and cleaning up dog pens entailed – especially since she’s always been the type to dislike moving around too much. Even when she goes out with friends, she always votes for a movie, or a nice coffee shop hangout over anything that entailed  _ actual _ activity.

As far as she knows, Minkyung is even more of a homebody than she is, so she supposes that her current enthusiasm is a direct influence of the animals at the shelter. Minkyung is quite familiar with most of them as well, and as she and Eunwoo go around cleaning the pens, she talks and shares anecdotes about them almost as if they were her own.

“Tako is the friendliest dog among the lot,” Minkyung explains, referring to the medium-sized brown mutt that she was leading out of one of the pens to bathe. “See—” She laughs as the dog in question barks and demands attention from Eunwoo.

Eunwoo, on the other hand, is a little taken aback, unused to strange dogs – or rather, unused to dogs  _ in general _ poking their snouts against her leg. She’s frozen for a couple of seconds, afraid that if she moves, she’ll get bit or similar. Minkyung laughs, all too entertained by her expression, and Eunwoo scowls at her, even as she gathers enough courage to cautiously scratch behind the attention-hungry dog’s ears.

By the end of the day, Eunwoo feels pretty tired, and more than ready to go home and throw herself onto her bed. Strangely enough, however, she also feels fully satisfied.

“It’s the sense of accomplishment,” Minkyung tells her as she drives them both back to Seoul. “That’s why it feels like that. You wanna go again next week?”

Eunwoo likes animals,  _ sort of. _ She finds them endearing, and she loves watching cute animal clips and forwarding them to all her friends. (In her defense, a video of a kitten and a rabbit made to look like they’re dancing to a Girls’ Generation song deserves to be seen by everyone.) Still, she hasn’t really had a pet since she was 10, and two hamsters had passed away in her care within the span of a week. Her parents didn’t trust her with the responsibility of caring for animals, and eventually Eunwoo grew up not trusting herself with the responsibility of caring for others in general. 

And so Minkyung’s question makes her wince, and she ends up gawking at the older girl; whatever expression she’s making is enough to make Minkyung crack up with laughter, and she can’t help but note that the sound is sweet, soft, and almost velvety, and it’s a nice feeling as it fills up the entire car.

“I don’t know how to feel about the fact that I’m actually considering saying yes to that?” Eunwoo admits, her own cackling mixing with Minkyung’s laugh. 

“Good—” the older answers with a smile. “You’re supposed to feel  _ good _ about that decision! Especially since it means that you get to spend more time with me!”

Eunwoo doesn’t know why her cheeks warm at that, but she tells herself that it’s just residual flush from that day’s exhaustion.

“I guess I didn’t have such a terrible time with you today, unnie,” she admits; her tone is teasing, but the sentiment is sincere.

“Why do you sound so surprised about that?!” Minkyung asks, laughing out of amusement.

“Do I—?” Eunwoo blinks, only to chuckle along when she realises that she  _ did. _ “I guess it’s just because we’ve been friends for almost two years now, but this week has been the first time that we’ve spent this much time together—at least just the two of us!”

“I guess that’s true,” Minkyung agrees softly. “But hey, we have most of this summer to remedy that tragedy, don’t we?”

  
  
  
  


As they enter Seoul City limits, Minkyung asks her if she wants to spend the night, and Eunwoo finds herself readily agreeing as if it's an invitation that she's been expecting all day.

They make a quick stop at Eunwoo’s so she can pick up a change of clothes, and they also drop by Pizza Hut so Minkyung can pick up a large order of pizza.

“I smell like a mix of sweat, cat litter and dog food—” Eunwoo wrinkles her nose when they step out of the car after arriving at Minkyung's family home. “Is it okay if I shower before we eat?”

“Sure,” Minkyung agrees. “I need to do the same anyway. You can use my bathroom, I’ll use the main one.”

Eunwoo has only been to Minkyung’s once before, for the older girl’s birthday earlier that year. They hadn't really stayed long, as they'd just picked her up before their little friend group went out to spend hours singing and drinking at a noraebang.

This is the first time that she's really able to observe the place – it's nice, spacious but also thoroughly lived in. Her parents greet them as they pass by the living room, and Eunwoo smiles and bows at them politely while Minkyung informs then that there's pizza in the kitchen, and that her friend is sleeping over.

Minkyung points her towards the direction of her bedroom after, telling her to feel free to use her hygiene products; she nods gratefully, only to let out a little shriek when she opens the door and Minkyung's tiny white dog practically  _ mauls _ her.

Behind her, Minkyung bursts into laughter. “Sorry,” She says, even though she doesn't really sound apologetic. To her credit, she  _ is _ quick to pick the dog up. “Pobi, that wasn't very nice,” she half-heartedly scolds the canine. “Sorry again,” she repeats, eyes on Eunwoo, this time reflecting a hint of genuine remorse. “She gets bored being by herself all day, and I should have warned you.”

“It’s okay,” Eunwoo assures the older; she even reaches over, petting the dog that was now safely cradled in Minkyung's arms. “But I really need to shower before I start to smell even more like dog.”

Minkyung laughs, and nudges her bedroom door completely open, gesturing towards her personal bathroom. Eunwoo doesn't take long to shower, partly because she never does when washing up anywhere else that isn't her home, but also because she's starving.

Minkyung’s parents join them for dinner, where the older girl happily tells them about their day together at the shelter. It’s yet another completely different side of Minkyung, Eunwoo realises – she’s more polite and more careful with her words, even though she openly tells stories. As an only child, it’s obvious that she’s close with her mother and father, but there’s still a clear demarcation between them as child and parents. It’s different from Eunwoo’s own home life, where she and her brother speak very casually and comfortably – almost  _ friendly, _ even – with their parents.

“You smell nice,” Minkyung tells her after dinner, when they’re done cleaning up and they’ve retreated into Minkyung’s room.

“I literally used  _ your _ shampoo,” Eunwoo points out, less surprised this time when Pobi makes an obvious attempt to grab her attention by jumping onto her lap as soon as she parks herself at the foot of the older girl’s bed.

“Exactly!” Minkyung giggles and falls back on the mattress. “That’s clearly why you smell so good.”

“I feel like there’s some kind of thinly veiled insult there,” Eunwoo retorts, halfway turning her body so she can narrow her eyes at the older.

Minkyung only hums in response, and Eunwoo quickly reaches for a pillow which she hits Minkyung with.

“Don’t be violent, Nunu!” Minkyung squeaks, laughing as she stretches one of her legs so she can poke the younger with her foot. Eunwoo quickly moves to try and avoid her, but Minkyung has annoyingly long legs that she’s unable to escape. Resigned to her fate, she simply sticks her tongue out at the older as Minkyung repeatedly pokes her hip with her toes.

Once their combined laughter tapers off, a quiet lull begins to settle in the room, and it goes on for several minutes as both of them busy themselves with their phones instead. The silence is strangely comfortable, even for Eunwoo and she forgets that she’s a guest staying over at a friend’s house as she deep dives into Instagram, and she gets distracted with leaving comments and liking posts on her feed.

But then,

“Hey Nunu,” Minkyung calls out gently. “What happened with you and Kyulkyung?”

Eunwoo freezes for a second, taken aback. It would be funny because she literally just passed by a new post from Kyulkyung on her feed, but then she realises Minkyung must have just done the same thing, which is presumably why she’s brought the other girl up. She sighs, because the two of them have certainly become more familiar and comfortable over the last week, but neither of them have really touched any subject matter that was personal to them. 

“I mean, nothing happened?” Eunwoo answers, shrugging as she crawls into bed to lay next to the older girl. “I think that was it, exactly—nothing was happening. We were enjoying each other's company like we always did, but when you're with someone like  _ that _ you kind of expect some type of spark and it just wasn't there.”

Minkyung turns to her side so that they're face to face. “You always looked like you got along so well.”

“Unnie, that's because we did—” Her eyes momentarily flutter close, and a quiet sigh escapes her lips. “The truth is that I had the biggest crush on Kyulkyung before we dated, and I think it was the same for her. But then we got together and everything just felt flat. Honestly, I thought this summer—” She pauses because what she's about to say next is something that she hasn't admitted out loud before; Minkyung is looking at her with gentle anticipation, and she decides that it wouldn't be so bad to tell her, if she was going to tell someone. “I thought whatever disconnect we had could be fixed with one good summer, but she decided to go back home instead. I guess we weren't as in sync as I thought we were.”

Minkyung is silent for several seconds as she rolls onto her back. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs. 

“Eh, don't be,” Eunwoo tells her, and as she says it, she realises that she means it. “I feel like that decision made it clear that we're better off as friends, you know?” 

“Are you sure that you're not just telling yourself that?”

Eunwoo hums softly, because it feels a little weird how easily Minkyung picked that up. “I  _ definitely _ have been just telling myself that,” she admits with a chuckle. “But I think I really mean it now.”

“What changed?”

The follow-up question gives her even more pause, because what  _ has _ changed?

Eunwoo shrugs. “I don’t know—it’s been more than three weeks, so I guess I’m three weeks older and wiser?” She laughs in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere; she truly feels okay about this now and she doesn’t want to give off the vibe that she isn’t.

“That’s good,” Minkyung says. “If you’re really okay.”

“I am,” Eunwoo assures her. “I kind of miss Kyul, though.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. You’re a whole lot noisier when she’s around,” Minkyung teases, and Eunwoo laughs because she can’t really argue with that. She misses her friend, and while she’d angled to keep the benefits before summer had arrived, she thinks she can do without those now.

“We’re even worse when Yaebin joins in,” she simply comments without giving her words much thought.

“Are you sure that’s something to be proud of—?”

Eunwoo laughs some more. “Unnie, you like to pretend you’re the so-called sane one when we’re together, but I’ve seen Kyungwon-unnie bring out a different side of you!” She doesn’t mention that she’s felt privy to that side of Minkyung as well, having seen it occasionally over the last week they’ve spent hanging out together.

“I refuse to acknowledge nor deny that accusation.”

Eunwoo clicks her tongue, and then she turns her head to look at Minkyung. It dawns on her that the older has just pried into her personal life by asking about Kyulkyung, and it hadn’t been so bad, so she decides to go for it right back.

“What about you, unnie?” She asks, careful in her tone. “What happened between you and Yaebin?”

Minkyung shifts, rolling over so that she’s laying on her side once more, facing Eunwoo. “Nothing,” she answers with a sigh. “Although that was my bad—I probably should have been more clear a long time ago with her.”

“So there was never any chance of anything happening between the two of you?”

Minkyung shakes her head. “Well—” Her breath hitches and a pained expression briefly colors her features. “I guess it would be a lie to say  _ never _ so conclusively. I guess I kinda considered it when we reconnected after she got into university, right around the time we all met each other. By then I was more comfortable about my attraction to girls, and I knew she always—this is is very narcissistic,” she admits with a soft chuckle, “but I knew she always liked me. I think it was that same comfort, though, that made it clear to me that I only saw her as a younger sister. And I think that’s where I was wrong—I told her I didn’t feel the same, but I was never clear with my reasoning, and I should have.”

“But—” Eunwoo still doesn’t get it, and she’s taken over with frustration for her friend.  _ “Why?” _

“What do you mean why? Do you think we actively choose who we get to be attracted to?” 

When Minkyung puts it like that, she supposes it makes a whole lot more sense. Still, it doesn’t really explain the warm flush that has suddenly spread across her face.

  
  
  
  


Eunwoo doesn’t remember when or how she fell asleep; all she knows is that she and Minkyung had kept talking in hushed and whispered tones through the night, for who knows how long, until they both could barely keep their eyelids open. And so it really shouldn’t be too much of a surprise when, in the morning, her eyes flutter open and the first thing she sees once her vision clears, is Minkyung’s face practically just a hair’s breadth away from her own.

She opens her mouth to say something and wake the older girl up, only to close it again after changing her mind at the last second; she clamps her hand over it a second later, when she considers her own morning breath.

And then she stares because she can’t help herself.

Minkyung’s eyelashes are thick even without mascara, beautiful in the way they cascade lightly against her cheekbones.  _ It’s unfair, _ Eunwoo thinks, the way Minkyung has really pretty eyes even when they’re shut tight. Even more unfair is the way the corners of her lips curl up while she’s resting, giving her a very amiable appearance – it's almost like she’s wearing a calm and peaceful smile in her dreams.

The older girl stirs, and Eunwoo quickly rolls over to face the other way. She shuts her eyes immediately, and consciously works on evening out her breathing so she can pretend to still be asleep. It’s ridiculous, and she doesn’t really have proper rationale for acting like that, but she doesn’t have the time or energy to try and understand her own actions, especially as Minkyung starts to lightly shake her shoulder.

“Nunu,” Minkyung mumbles, clearly still half-asleep. “It’s time to wake up. I think it’s almost 10, and I should get breakfast started.”

“Breakfast—?” Eunwoo mumbles, repeating phrases to buy herself time from actually responding properly. “Almost 10—?” 

“I guess you can sleep some more if you’re that tired,” Minkyung murmurs with a soft chuckle, clearly amused.

The truth is that Eunwoo feels quite awake and alert, she just doesn’t want to turn over and look at Minkyung because her cheeks still feel hot and her heart is beating rapidly, and she feels stupid for both.

“I’ll be up in five,” she mutters, voice muffled by her pillow. “You go on first, unnie.”

Minkyung hums, and soon Eunwoo feels the mattress shift as Minkyung gets up and off it.

“Okay, well, you know where the bathroom is if you want to wash up first,” Minkyung tells her, and Eunwoo can only mumble inaudibly in response; several seconds later, she hears the door open and gently close, an indicator that Minkyung has left the room.

Eunwoo releases breath she hadn’t even realised that she’d been holding. She doesn’t even want to think about what’s causing her weirdly erratic reactions around Minkyung – all she knows is none of it feels right, even if also strangely natural.

  
  
  
  


**renakang: ** its day 6   
**renakang: ** still no hot fling   
**renakang:** still gaining weight from all my binging    
**renakang:** still finding soyeon annoying

**jununu:** day 6   
**jununu:** and same   
**jununu: ** and who?

**renakang:** tiny annoying girl i told u abt **  
** **renakang: ** that’s her name   
**renakang:** how’s minky unnie   
**renakang:** and u know she never posts on sns   
**renakang:** come to think of it u haven’t been posting much either?

**jununu:** ??   
**jununu:** um    
**jununu: ** why r u asking me   
**jununu:** nothing exciting is happening   
**jununu:** nothing to post

**renakang:** still feel kinda weird   
**renakang:** abt msging her direct i mean   
**renakang:** u gotta create ur own excitement nunu

**jununu:** oh   
**jununu:** well   
**jununu:** i guess she’s fine   
**jununu:** minky unnie i mean

**renakang:** cool   
**renakang:** cool cool

**jununu:** u okay?

**renakang:** yea   
**renakang:** uh just   
**renakang:** getting a lil seasick ig

**jununu:** dont u dock somewhere soon?

**renakang:** yea tmr   
**renakang:** in saigon

**jununu:** gr8   
**jununu:** enjoy ur trip!

**renakang:** enjoy vacation!

  
  
  
  


If Eunwoo had thought that she and Minkyung had developed and cemented a routine after just a mere week, well – she was certainly correct.

Minkyung continues to show up at Starbucks everyday after work, and then together they'd scour the streets of Hongdae, deciding on what to have for dinner together.

Their conversations still mostly revolve around mundane things (“There was this snot-nosed brat on my bus this morning who kept picking his boogers and wiping it on the back of his seat” Eunwoo shares; “That’s disgusting and I’m trying to have a nice, delicious meal here,” Minkyung responds, laughing despite her words) and more impersonal gossip mongering (“I saw on Facebook that Raina-unnie and her boyfriend broke up,” Minkyung informs her; “Oh, they're back together—literally just saw the status change on my feed five minutes ago before you got here,” Eunwoo updates her), but this time there's a mix of personal interests as well (“Are you seriously telling me that you've never seen a single episode of  _ One Piece?!  _ You're missing half your life, Nunu.” “Anime is just not really my thing?” “You have to try this one, at least! You won't regret it.” “Okay, but only if you watch something I like as well.” “Deal!”)

It starts to feel like she’s getting to know Minkyung on a less superficial level, and it’s nice, albeit a little suspect considering how long they’ve been in each other’s lives.

It makes Eunwoo think about the way she interacts and forms bonds with the people around her.

“Would you consider yourself to be someone with a lot of close friends, unnie?” She once asks Minkyung over dinner, because somehow, they’ve reached a point where Eunwoo feels comfortable just sharing whatever is on her mind whenever they’re together.

“Well, I have Kyungwon—and you, Yaebin, Kyulkyung,” Minkyung enumerates.

“Yeah, but I feel like we weren’t really close before this summer?” Eunwoo points out.

“Are you saying that you didn’t consider us friends before?”

“I did! But then I realised that we didn’t really know much about each other before—and well, what kind of friendship was that?!”

“True, we didn’t,” Minkyung agrees, but she’s clearly unfazed. She’s smiling at Eunwoo, her eyes sparkling as they usually do. “But I trusted you anyway—I trusted that if I needed anything from you, you would quickly and easily come through, because I would have done the same for you. I don’t feel like that about many people, and honestly, that’s what friendship is to me.”

Eunwoo nods slowly, letting Minkyung’s words settle in her thoughts. She likes that, she thinks, the way that Minkyung is always able to make her  _ think _ – which is new to her, as she’s someone who tends to go with the flow, if only because she hates getting too into her own head. 

The truth is that she and Minkyung don’t really have a lot in common – not in their interests, nor in their outlooks on life – but she’s realising that just might be what’s so great about spending time together.

  
  
  
  


“You’re all Minkyung talks about these days, did you know that—?”

Eunwoo and Kyungwon are on FaceTime because Eunwoo was bored, and Kyungwon wanted to show her a new trick that her dog had recently learned. Apparently old dogs  _ can _ still learn new tricks, and Kyungwon is very proud about this. (“I called Minkyung first, but she’s out with her mom,” she’d informed Eunwoo at the start of their conversation; “Oh, I could have told you that,” is how Eunwoo answered for some reason – but then again, Minkyung’s unavailability was the entire reason why she was so bored out of her wits.)

“What do you mean?” Eunwoo asks, brow creasing in confusion and mild discomfort. She doesn’t understand what Kyungwon is trying to achieve by bringing this up.

“Exactly what I said—did the sun affect your listening comprehension?” Kyungwon laughs, teasing. “She always brings you up now whenever we talk. Eunwoo did this, Eunwoo said that. All the time!”

Eunwoo is unsure how she’s  _ supposed _ to feel about this, but the fluttering in her stomach – like butterflies attempting to make their way up to her chest – is pretty undeniable.

“Yeah well, you already know that we’re all we have right now,” she points out. “So of course we’ve been spending a lot of time together.”

“Right—” Kyungwon laughs. “And yet you were so nervous about being stuck with her for the summer! It’s really nice that you’ve been getting along though.”

“I guess,” Eunwoo murmurs.

Kyungwon simply hums; there’s something there – something not quite judgmental, but with a hint of dangerous astuteness that only serves to add to Eunwoo’s growing unease.

  
  
  
  


And then it happens.

Eunwoo is over at Minkyung’s, once again staying the night after another long day of volunteering at the animal shelter in Gimpo. They’re laying on their stomachs, sprawled out across the length of Minkyung’s bed as they watched a horror movie on Netflix that Eunwoo picked out in exchange for having finally seen a few episodes of Minkyung’s favorite anime – which, admittedly, she had not hated.

She wishes she could say the same about the boring movie that she’d chosen – she really should have picked something she’d already seen and knows she loves, instead of a random horror flick that had caught her eye while looking through her Netflix recommendations.

Minkyung keeps hiding behind her pillow every time the BGM telegraphs an upcoming scary scene anyway, and Eunwoo finds it  _ adorable, _ which is a word she never would have thought to use on Minkyung just a month ago.

“Unnie,” she calls out softly as the killer demon stalks the final girl on screen. Minkyung turns to her, eyes wide and glassy, and Eunwoo giggles. “Why are you so scared? I never would have pegged you to be the type.”

“Why aren't  _ you? _ ” Minkyung shoots back. “I would have assumed  _ you _ to be the type.”

Normally, Eunwoo would have laughed at that – probably would have ever thrown a teasing barb right back Minkyung's way. Except, this time around, lost in her own head and clearly not thinking clearly this is what she does instead:

She leans in without hesitation and plants her lips on Minkyung's.

The older girl lets out a soft, muffled squeak – the only indication that she was caught off-guard by Eunwoo’s sudden action. The effect on Minkyung doesn’t even last long, because it barely takes a second before the older relaxes, mouth naturally parting against Eunwoo’s as if she has actually been ready for this to happen.

The kiss starts slow – their lips moving in a slow, almost deliberate but exploratory manner. Minkyung’s body then shifts, leaning more towards Eunwoo as her hand finds it’s to the younger’s hip. Eunwoo’s breath hitches when she feels Minkyung’s slender fingers brush against the sliver of bare skin that shows when her shirt rides up as she reaches up to hold the older’s face.

And then she’s welcoming Minkyung’s tongue into her mouth, her own pushing forward to lick and taste the flavor of Minkyung’s cherry-mint toothpaste, on her lips and inside  _ her _ mouth.

The kiss goes on, deeper and deeper, escalating into a full-blown makeout session – and even though the screen is showing the final girl screaming her lungs out as her boyfriend sacrifices himself to the killer demon so she can live, neither Eunwoo, nor Minkyung really notice or pay attention.

  
  
  
  


If it had only happened once, then maybe Eunwoo would have had time to wonder what in the world is going on. As it is, instead of sitting down and having a mature talk about that kiss that seemingly came out of nowhere, the makeout sessions are instead unceremoniously and seamlessly incorporated into the routine that she and Minkyung have developed.

At some point between 5 and 5:15 PM, Minkyung would arrive at Starbucks. 

At either 5 or 6, depending on the day, Eunwoo clocks out.

6:30 PM finds them easily settled at their restaurant of choice, having casual conversation over dinner.

And two hours later, by half past 8, they'd already be parked  _ somewhere _ in Minkyung’s car, mouths on each other and hands getting increasingly desperate as they wander across each other's bodies.

Minkyung is a great kisser, and Eunwoo, quite frankly, can't get enough of her. Every time the older girl drives her home – every night, after she washes up and Minkyung’s taste in her mouth is replaced with the taste of toothpaste, she makes up her mind about putting her foot down and finally confronting Minkyung.

Instead, she ends up guiltily pushing thoughts of Yaebin to the back of her head everyday, succumbing as the cycle starts all over again.

“How are you so good at kissing?” Eunwoo stupidly blurts out one night. 

For some reason, something as trivial as this easily slides off her tongue, unlike other questions that probably matter – such as, perhaps,  _ ‘What the fuck are we doing?’ _

“Oh.” Minkyung glances at her through the rearview mirror; she'd been busy combing her fingers her hair, making sure they look neat and tame and very much not like Eunwoo had been pulling at them just minutes earlier. “Thank you?” She adds, sounding unsure as she now moves on to reapplying gloss that had rubbed off her lips thanks to, once again, Eunwoo.

“Um.” Eunwoo blushes; she knows her word vomit was ridiculous – but she couldn't help her curiosity. Embarrassing as it is to admit, Minkyung does things with her tongue that Eunwoo never would have expected from her. For the longest time – two years, give or take – her main impression of Minkyung has always been her being prim, proper, diligent – overall a good girl. But she sure doesn't kiss  _ or _ touch like one, and Eunwoo is starting to think that she really should stop making foregone conclusions about people, because no matter how long you've known someone they can still surprise you. “Just curious,” she mumbles as way of explanation. “I just—you seem pretty experienced, is all.”

Minkyung laughs, and Eunwoo sinks into the passenger seat, blushing an even deeper shade of red. It’s silly, because it isn't as if she’s naïve and inexperienced by any means. 

“I used to party hard in high school,” Minkyung explains, and Eunwoo gapes at her. So much for thinking that Minkyung was a prim and proper homebody. “That isn't really an explanation on its own,” Minkyung continues, “but let's say I mingled a lot with frogs  _ and _ princesses, and most of them were really only good for helping me learn how to do things in a way that feels good for everyone.”

Eunwoo blinks, and Minkyung gives her a soft, apologetic – almost  _ guilty _ – smile.

“Sorry,” she apologises, and Eunwoo really doesn't know what for. “Are you disappointed?”

“Why would I be?”

Minkyung shrugs. “You saw me differently before.”

Eunwoo actually  _ laughs, _ because for the first time since she's known Minkyung, the older girl actually sounds somewhat  _ defeated. _ “I did—but I like learning new things about you, unnie.”

Minkyung relaxes, relieved laughter spilling out of her.

Beautiful, bluntly manicured fingers reach over, hooking Eunwoo’s chin and pulling her in. This time, when Minkyung kisses her, it's chaste and sweet, brief yet lingering with a hint of something beyond just a physical connection. It’s different from the frantic make out scenarios they've been engaging in for the past week and a half, and Eunwoo doesn't know what to make of it.

  
  
  
  


She needs to talk to  _ someone _ and she knows she needs to do it soon because otherwise she's going to go crazy. 

But—

_ Girl code, _ she thinks.

The unwritten rules of female friendship dictate that she shouldn’t even  _ look _ at Minkyung in any way other than friendly or platonic, and yet here she is. She thinks about Minkyung telling her that one really can’t choose who they’re attracted to, and for a fleeting moment she feels comforted, but then she thinks about  _ Minkyung _ again, and Eunwoo is back to wanting to tear her own hair out.

She doesn’t feel right going to Kyulkyung about this – or, at least she doesn’t think she can. Kyulkyung is her best friend (she’d like to think so, anyway), but she’s also her ex-girlfriend, and telling her that she’s quickly and easily moved on to someone who is a mutual friend, well – Eunwoo doesn’t really want to imagine how that conversation is supposed to go.

She considers calling up Kyungwon – heck, she even considers taking an early morning train to Gwangju. It would have doubled as an escape from Minkyung and the butterflies that make a scheduled appearance in her stomach whenever the older girl is near her. Ultimately, she decides against it, because as close as she considers herself to be with Kyungwon, she’s still Minkyung’s best friend.

And then there’s Yaebin and, well – she couldn’t turn to  _ that _ friend for obvious reasons.

This is her punishment, probably. She’s left with no one to turn to about her girl problems because she’s broken the girl code. 

Some Power That Be seems to still be on her side though, because just as she’s about to scream into her pillow, an unexpected message makes her phone buzz, and she finds that it’s a dinner invitation from an old friend.

Nayoung is one of her seniors in high school; they’d both belonged to the school’s chorale group. They don’t really see much of each other anymore because they go to different universities, but every so often they randomly ask each other out for much needed catching up. Eunwoo would have turned to her a lot more over the summer, except Nayoung had managed to score a paid internship at one of the bigger Seoul broadcasting stations and she’d given up Nayoung ever finding time to fit her in her schedule. But the older actually managed to do it, and at such an opportune time too – Nayoung is someone that Eunwoo has always liked and respected a lot. She looks up to Nayoung, and she trusts that if anyone would be able to help her sort her jumbled thoughts out, it would be the older girl.

“That…  _ does _ sound complicated,” Nayoung unhelpfully offers, staring at her vacantly and making Eunwoo feel worse at the kind of predicament she’s landed herself in.

So much for Nayoung being her miracle worker.

“I’m the worst friend, aren’t I?” Eunwoo groans, rubbing frantically at her cheeks in frustration.

“Nunu—” Nayoung reaches out, cracking a small smile as she rubs the younger’s back for some comfort. “I mean—it’s not simple, but it can be, if you want it to be.”

Eunwoo looks up at her, brows furrowed. “How?”

“Well, first of all, you need to figure out what’s really going on with you and Minkyung-ssi. The way I see it, the most complicated part here is how it looks like you haven’t really settled that.”

She purses her lips – Nayoung isn’t wrong.

“But it doesn’t—” Eunwoo wincces, “—it doesn’t feel right to have  _ something _ going with us.”

“Why?”

“Yaebin—”

“You can’t figure out what to do about Yaebin if you can’t figure out what’s going on between the two of you, first. Nunu—do you like her?”

Eunwoo blanks out; she realises this is something that she’s been scared of admitting even to herself.

“I—” She starts, only to take a second to wet her lips; she takes a deep breath and tries to gather enough courage to continue. “I do,” she mumbles in admittance, her heart pounding against her rib cage even though Minkyung isn’t even around to hear the confession. “I think… a lot more than even I’ve realised before now.”

“Does she feel the same?”

The question makes her pause; Eunwoo thinks she does – at least she  _ feels _ that Minyung does. But it’s not as if they’ve had this talk before, so there isn’t really any way she can be a hundred percent sure in that moment.

She shrugs noncommittally.

“I think she’s the one you should be talking to about this, Nunu.”

Eunwoo inhales deeply – she already knew that. This was always the best and most mature course of action, but it’s not as if ‘mature’ is the first word anyone ever thinks of when trying to describe her.

  
  
  
  


**jununu:** wru now?   
**jununu:** having fun?

**renakang:** docked in bali   
**renakang:** at least 4 the next 34 hrs

**jununu:** weather must be nice

**renakang:** 👌🌞

**jununu:** well   
**jununu:** u seem chipper   
**jununu:** did hot lesbian finally make an appearance?

**renakang:** lol   
**renakang:** i’ve stopped looking   
**renakang: ** but   
**renakang:** it’s been nice    
**renakang:** i’ve been able to think more clearly

**jununu:** that’s a good thing right?   
**jununu:** or did the sparks between u and miss soyeon   
**jununu:** finally prove to be more than animosity?

**renakang:** p good!   
**renakang:** shut up   
**renakang: ** she’s still annoying   
**renakang:** but we figured we’re kinda stuck w each other   
**renakang: ** so we’ve been getting along

**jununu:** sounds like a fruitful enemies to lovers story **  
** **jununu:** when do u come home again?

**renakang:** enemies to FRIENDS **  
** **renakang:** and    
**renakang:** in around a week   
**renakang:** miss me yet?

**jununu:** kkkk   
**jununu:** dont 4get our souvenirs

**renakang:** yah

**jununu:** kkkkkkkk   
**jununu:** miss u yaeb

**renakang:** kkk   
**renakang:** miss u 2 nunu

  
  
  
  


Eunwoo wishes she didn’t enjoy the taste of cherries so much, because the way Minkyung’s lips always have the faintest hint of the flavor is distracting her from what she’s made her mind up to do. (And seriously – why was everything, from her lip gloss to her toothpaste flavored cherry adjacent? If Eunwoo didn’t know any better, she’d think Minkyung was doing this on purpose in order to drive her completely insane, and honestly, she was borderline succeeding.)

“Unnie—” she gasps, pulling away for air, because of course it’s another weekend that has them completely wrapped around each other.

“Hm—?” Minkyung, clearly in a good mood, laughs and nuzzles Eunwoo’s neck, which in turn makes Eunwoo shriek. Minkyung knows by now just how ticklish she is there, and she’s pretty sure that Minkyung is picking at that spot on purpose now, because of this knowledge.

“Unnie!” She wheezes, laughing as well in her attempt to move away.

Minkyung stops, finally, simply smiling when she pulls away and meets Eunwoo’s eyes. They’re sitting face to face on Minkyung’s bed, both of them cross-legged.

“Unnie,” Eunwoo repeats yet again, her breath hitching because now the two of them are just staring at each other, and even though Eunwoo had always accepted that Minkyung is beautiful –  _ gorgeous, _ even – right now, with her cheeks flushed, her lips puffy, and the dim lighting from her bedside lamp illuminating her features at just the right angle, well.

Eunwoo finds her  _ breathtaking. _

“Nunu!” Minkyung suddenly chirps back, a little too enthusiastic; the nickname isn’t anything new but it sounds especially cute and sweet rolling off her tongue.

Eunwoo thinks she just wants to pause this moment so she could bask in it, because what she’s going to say next can very well change everything. So she wrinkles her nose, crosses her eyes, and allows herself to be enveloped in Minkyung’s sweet laughter for the next minute or so.

And then,

“We should talk,” she says; it’s a wonder that her voice doesn’t tremble, nor does she choke on her own nerves.

The way Minkyung’s expression immediately changes – it clues Eunwoo in that she’s been expecting this conversation to happen sooner or later.

“Yaebin—” Eunwoo starts.

“I like you,” Minkyung says at the exact same time, cutting Eunwoo short and making her freeze mid-sentence. “Sorry,” Minkyung exhales. “I guess that wasn’t what you were going for.”

And she wants to laugh, really, because she and Minkyung really do instinctively go for different things most of the time.

“I like you too, unnie,” she whispers. “A little too much, maybe, but—”

“But Yaebin,” Minkyung confirms.

Eunwoo nods. “And I—well.” She winces. “Why do you like me, unnie?” She hates having to ask this, but she  _ has _ to know. Otherwise, how is she supposed to figure out if the trouble of her own feelings are remotely worth anything?

Minkyung blinks at her, and Eunwoo averts her gaze, embarrassed.

“Because you’re cute,” Minkyung suddenly coos, teasing and reaching over to pinch her cheeks. “And because you make me laugh,” she continues, hands moving to cup her face instead. “I like spending time with you because you make me laugh. If anything, we have the same humor, apart from that—we’re different enough from each other that we always learn new things from one another, and it never feels stale. I like that.”

Eunwoo actually smiles – Minkyung’s words are a nice surprise too, she thinks. The two of them actually feel pretty similarly about some things, apparently. Like –  _ each other. _

Minkyung sighs, “...but I don’t know what we’re going to do about Yaebin either,” she continues, “and I think that’s why I’ve been avoiding this conversation. Guess I’m not really the mature one in our friend group after all, huh? Avoidance isn't really a proper way of dealing with things.”

“We should stop, shouldn’t we?” Eunwoo whispers; it’s the only solution she can think of.

“Probably,” Minkyung agrees.

There’s silence, and Eunwoo closes her eyes as she falls over sideways on the bed. It’s the right thing to do, obviously but – it still feels like shit. It doesn’t help that Minkyung had agreed too easily, even though Eunwoo isn’t sure how else she could have expected the older to respond.

She feels the mattress dip next to her, and when she opens her eyes, she’s met with Minkyung silently staring at her.

“I don’t want to,” Minkyung says softly. “Stop, I mean.”

Eunwoo’s chest tightens. “Neither do I.”

Minkyung’s hand moves to take hers. “What are we going to do?”

Eunwoo really doesn’t know, so she doesn’t say anything; she closes her eyes again, and silently wishes that they were back to the start of the summer again.

She wonders if she would have made different choices.

  
  
  
  


They break their routine; Minkyung stops showing up at Starbucks after Eunwoo’s shift – stops showing up  _ completely, _ and as a result Eunwoo starts third wheeling Yewon and her girlfriend, Sungyeon, after work, instead. She feels bad for intruding, but she likes them because they’re very accommodating and generally lowkey about their relationship. Besides, Yewon’s sunshine smile is sometimes enough to get her to stop feeling sorry for herself.

“I’m coming back Thursday evening,” Kyungwon announces to her one evening when they’re on FaceTime again. She glances at the calendar on her desk, and realises that summer vacation is actually two-thirds over.

“Oh! That’s great—” She grins; genuinely thinking that it would be nice to have Kyungwon around again. “But why did you push it forward?”

“My family’s driving me crazy,” Kyungwon says with a laugh. “Plus…” she trails off, looking like she’s considering what to say next, and it makes Eunwoo wonder if Minkyung has told her anything.

“Plus—?”

“Yaebin’s coming home soon, and then Kyulkyung. We’re getting the gang back together,” Kyungwon says, chuckling.

“Right!” Eunwoo wracks her mind for the exact date of Yaebin’s arrival, but she finds that she doesn’t know. It makes her feel like an even worse friend, because the truth is that she hasn’t talked to Yaebin much over the last week.

“It’s this Saturday,” Kyungwon tells her, as if she’s figured out that Eunwoo doesn’t know. “I told her we’re picking her up.”

“Won’t she be with her parents anyway?”

“Nah—” Kyungwon shakes her head. “They’re arriving the day after tomorrow, Wednesday.” She laughs. “Yaebin had a hot, last minute summer fling in her last week on that stupid love boat with someone she spent the first three weeks of the ccruise hating – so she asked to stay back in Sydney for a whole three days after the trip. I mean it feels to me like she's just deflecting and pushing back reality for a few more days, but—” Kyungwon shrugs.

Eunwoo laughs; even though she agrees with Kyungwon’s assessment, the news lifts  _ some _ weight off her shoulders – Yaebin at least got what she sought after on that cruise  _ and _ she’d turn out to be correct about that Soyeon girl that Yaebin has been mentioning all summer. “Must be nice to be as rich as Yaebin and her family.”

“Right? And  _ that’s _ why we’re meeting her at the airport—” Kyungwon cackles. “She better have a suitcase filled with souvenirs for us, her less financially stable friends.”

Eunwoo snorts. “Sounds like a plan.”

A beat.

“Minkyung’s coming too, by the way.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah—”

“Okay,” Eunwoo says, nodding and plastering a smile on her lips. “But I’ll see you Friday?”

Kyungwon hums. “Saturday,” she clarifies. “But it can be Friday if you want to hang out with me and Minkyung.”

She pauses, actually considering this. It wouldn’t be  _ so _ bad to see Minkyung, after all? Especially not with Kyungwon as buffer?

“I have work on Friday anyway,” she answers eventually. “So Saturday it is.”

  
  
  
  


Minkyung and Kyungwon pick her up together in the former’s car on Saturday morning. She’d expected them, of course – Kyungwon had texted her the previous night, telling her that she should be ready by ten. 

She instinctively goes for the front seat like she’s been doing all summer, only to be given a strange look by Kyungwon after she pulls the door open and Eunwoo finds her already seated there.

“Oh, sorry,” she says, laughing in a stilted manner as she quickly takes the back seat instead. “What time does Yaebin’s plane land again?”

“Around 1,” Kyungwon informs them. “So we've got plenty of time.”

The car ride is less awkward than Eunwoo would have thought it would be. Kyungwon does most of the talking, and after Minkyung allows her control of the sound system, she starts silly sing-alongs that all three of them join in. Occasionally, she'd catch Minkyung glancing at her through the rearview mirror, and while she can't help the pink that dusts her cheeks whenever that happens, she pretends to ignore it anyway.

When they get to the airport, they miraculously manage to find free seats in the waiting area; Kyungwon plants herself between the two of them and Eunwoo doesn't know if she feels relieved or frustrated.

“I’m going to check her flight status,” Kyungwon suddenly announces after she checks her watch and finds that it's already a couple of minutes past one in the afternoon. She gets up on her feet and looks at Eunwoo and Minkyung invitingly. “You coming with?”

Both of them shake their heads at the same time, and Kyungwon shrugs before leaving them on their own.

It’s crazy how much Eunwoo’s heart starts thumping like crazy once Kyungwon disappears amongst the throng of airport people; it gets even worse when Minkyung moves and slides just a few inches closer, occupying half the space that Kyungwon had to herself earlier.

Eunwoo doesn't say or do anything – mostly because she feels frozen  _ and _ tongue tied, because she actually does want to at least talk.

“Hey.” Minkyung beats her to it, and Eunwoo squeaks as a response. “I’ve missed you, Nunu.”

“Does Kyungwon not know, or—?” Eunwoo asks softly.  _ I’ve missed you too, _ she returns in her head.

“I think she suspects something’s going on,” Minkyung says. “She hasn't pried because she's giving me time. She knows that if I want to tell her, then I will.”

“You don't want to tell her?”

Eunwoo frowns, annoyed at her own reaction more than anything else. She’s scared of having to deal with the consequences of their little summer fling, but she hates feeling like Minkyung's dirty little secret; she wonders what  _ that  _ says about her and what she really wants.

“I do,” Minkyung answers. “I want to tell her. I want to tell Yaebin, and Kyulkyung. I want to tell  _ everyone. _ ”

Eunwoo turns and looks at her, and she's met with a small, bittersweet smile. She doesn’t know how to respond because she's realising that she really wants that as well – she wants to tell  _ everyone. _ But she's scared, and it's silly, because how is she so willing to test a friendship of two years, for something that's barely a month old?

Minkyung sighs. “I should check on Kyungwon, and Yaebin's flight status,” she says, and she gets up on her feet.

“Okay,” she answers robotically, and then she watches Minkyung walk away, something constricting in her chest, growing tighter and further, until she couldn't help herself and she gets on her feet to follow. “Unnie—” she calls out.

“There you two are!” Kyungwon exclaims, grinning and waving at them, just as Minkyung looks over her shoulder and locks eyes with Eunwoo. “Yaebin's plane just arrived,” she informs them in the exact moment that Eunwoo's hand finds Minkyung’s.

It’s warm, comforting, albeit a little sweaty – Minkyung is clearly as nervous as she is, but their hands fit so well anyway. Minkyung's long fingers easily wrap around her tiny hand and it's surprisingly comforting.

_ This is it. _

She has no idea what's going to happen next – she has no idea how they're going to tell their friends about them, or how they're going to react. She doesn't even know if things with her and Minkyung are going to work out. For all she knoww, they're going to crash and burn in the span of months, weeks, maybe even mere  _ days. _ But  _ this is it, _ she's made a decision and she needs to stand by it.

_ Fuck girl code, _ she thinks. 

At this point, Eunwoo can only hope for the best.

  
  
  
  
  


_ fin. _

**Author's Note:**

> [ 3 ] PRISTIN deserved better, but we got what we got. I hope the girls re-debut in some form, or at least are happy with their lives. ): 
> 
> [ 4 ] [Curious Cat](http://curiouscat.me/yiminho) for questions, feedback, yelling, etc. Thank you for reaching the end!


End file.
